Naugatuck Dogs Stan Musial State Champs Again

Tri-State League occupies final 4 spots left standing in state tournament
After a two year hiatus, the Naugatuck Dogs have reclaimed the status of “State Champions” knocking off the defending champion Tri-Town Trojans by a 6-1 final score on Sunday August 2nd. Naugy won the state title in 2011 and 2012 while Tri-Town held the honor each of the last two years in 2013 and 2014. Heading into the 12 team state tournament, Tri-State sent 4 teams into battle and heading into the quarter-finals had eliminated every other team outside the league leaving just the 4 Tri-State teams to battle it out. Naugy ran the table in the winners bracket and was automatically placed into the championship game undefeated. Wolcott drew the first bye into the semi-finals leaving Tri-Town and Terryville to battle it out in the quarterfinals. In a pitcher’s duel between two of the league’s best, Miles Scribner and Billy Armstrong, the Trojans scored runs on sacrifice fly-outs by Chris Comeau and Sam Shurberg in the second and third inning. Steve Price and Chris Comeau both had two hits each, and Landon Gardella had a triple. Miles Scribner pitched 6 2/3 innings as James Cramphin came on to record the final strike out with runners on first and second for Terryville to end the game. Scribner had also pitched 6 innings in Tri-Town’s 1st game of the day as the Trojans knocked out the Wilton Barons. Cramphin picked up the save in that victory as well.
The next day in the semi-finals, Connor Murray pitched 6 innings and James Cramphin came on for his 3rd save in 2 days as Tri-Town eliminated Wolcott 2-0 and the head-to-head champions matchup was on for the finals between the last two state champions. Mike Fabiaschi had an RBI single in the first inning versus Wolcott and Casey McDonald added a solo homerun in the 5th inning.
copyright Tim Gaffney LitchfieldCountySports.com August 2nd,2015
It’s been some kind of year for the Naugatuck Dogs in the Tri-State Baseball League and on Sunday, the Dogs brought home one of what they hope will be several trophies as the summer of 2015 winds down.
The Dogs batted around, sending 11 men to the plate in a six-run first inning on their way to a 6-1 win over the Tri-Town Trojans to take home the Stan Musial State Championship on a brilliant afternoon at Fuessenich Park. Lefty Bryan Wyrebek took that first frame safety net and ran with it, although to talk the manager and the pitcher, you may have thought something different.
“He really didn’t have his best stuff today, manager Jay Harlamon said, “He was frustrated but he’s a gamer.” I’m pretty sure the Trojans might disagree with that assessment after managing just five hits and a late seventh inning run in dropping the second of two games they played on Sunday. Earlier Sunday morning, Tri-Town got to the finals by beating Wolcott by a 2-0 final, giving them a place in the final. “I just couldn’t locate my change-up or curve ball tonight,” Wyrebek said, “Those are usually the two pitches I love throwing the most so I just had to kind of spot my fastball and let the guys behind me make the plays.” Wyrebek struck out four and walked two in going the distance.
The Trojans simply ran out of arms on Sunday after having to win twice on Saturday (4-2 over Wilton and 2-0 over Terryville) and again on Sunday morning. Miles Scribner pitched both games on Saturday, throwing 12 plus innings in the wins. Bobby Chatfield took the ball for the Trojans and ran into trouble right off the bat in the bottom of the first when he walked the first two batters before giving up RBI’s to Kyle Murphy and Devin Murphy. The wheels continued to come off in the frame with a pair of errors and a booming two-run double by Macky Ciancilo that left a large hole and a six run, 11-batter frame for the Trojans to try and climb out of. Tri-Town put runners on in each inning but each time, Wyrebek was up to the task until an infield single by Steve Price plated the only run for the Trojans in the top of the seventh. Chatfield went all six innings and settled down nicely after the rough first, allowing just two hits the rest of the way. “I think we came out kind of flat,” Tri-State manager Kyle Osolin said, “Bobby had some trouble find the plate early and they took advantage of that. He settled in after that though and gave up just the two hits. They are a good team. If you put people on base, they’re going to bring them home.”
The Dogs have been the class of the Tri-State league all season and have gotten stronger as the season wore on. “We played pretty good in the beginning of the season,” Harlamon said, “But after our fifth or sixth game, we really started playing good. We have always had really good defense and pitching that was solid but one through nine, we just started swinging the bats.” The group has played together for a good while and it shows on the field and in the dugout. “We have a really good group of kids,” Harlamon said, “Basically the same guys since we started ten years ago. They come in every day, they’re very committed.” Wyrebek, who attended the University of New Haven after his time at Bristol Eastern High School, is thriving with his new team. “This year has been unbelievable for me,” Wyrebek said, “This is my first year playing with Naugatuck. I had been playing with the Greeners (Bristol) for the past three years. It just been a lot of fun coming out and playing baseball with these guys who play baseball the way it’s supposed to be played.”
The Dogs now sports an outstanding 21-1 record and have a week off to prepare for the Tri-State Tournament, which for them will start next Sunday. “We have a bye and then we start tournament play next Sunday,” Harlamon said, “We will be well rested.” The Tri-State Playoffs start on Tuesday night with eight teams beginning play (out of 12) in the running for the championship.